Finding Hidan
by Coke head
Summary: Hidan saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the way out of the pit. She saw the mystery, the oddity of her ordinary day. OCness
1. The Rocks Have Eyes

Mitsuko treaded carefully on the path towards the nursery. The trees rose up to the clouds, stretching out their leafy canopy over the large area of the forest. No sun came through; it always remained dark in here. The hairs on Mitsuko's neck were prickling and her heart pounded in her chest but there was nothing to be afraid of here. Her clan owned this forest and only members of the clan could enter it. Why should she be afraid? She shook her head, hoping that the sudden movement would make her feel less awkward in such a familiar place.

The wind picked up and stopped her in her tracks. She covered her face as dead leaves from last year blew up into the wind. Some leaves and twigs got caught in her long black hair but she didn't try to pick them out, she didn't notice them weighing down her hair. She was too busy staring at the pile of rocks a little ways off the road when the wind had died down.

She hadn't even noticed she had come near it until now; this pile of large rocks sitting in the middle of a large forest with flat ground. Rocks couldn't be found anywhere nearby the forest, it was geographically set as so. Mitsuko couldn't help to not be curious. When she was younger, she would often come out here and sit on the rocks to think or just relax. Occasionally, she would hear a faint whisper in the wind and she would talk to it, not able to understand what it would say in reply. But, now that she has grown up, she just sits and listens.

She adjusted the pack over her shoulder. The fawns could wait awhile longer for her. Mitsuko climbed up the small hill of rocks and sat down on the very top boulder. She felt bigger now compared to when she would sit there as a child. The ground was much closer and she didn't feel like a queen anymore, just the girl that looked after the nursery in the Northern part of the forest. She closed her eyes and began to think of all the possible reasons why the rocks were here, as she had always done when she would visit this place.

Maybe it was the ruins of an old house? She shook her head. Who would spend the time to take apart a house and set all of the pieces in a nice pile in the forest rather than using it to make a new house? Could it be that the pile of rubble was some kind of shrine? Why weren't there any candles or names written? She felt the urge to get up off the rock and look around but she resisted. Something was watching her every move, waiting to catch her off guard.

An eerie feeling swept through her body when the last idea that she could ever think of came to mind. What if, this pile of rocks that she was sitting on so calmly... What if it was a burial ground for someone stripped of all humane honors? Someone just killed and tossed into a hole and covered with boulders. She shivered and sat up straight, opening her eyes. Could that be why? She had never thought of that one before.

How then could she hear the faint whisper in the wind when she sat on the rocks and nowhere else in the forest? There was a secret to this pile of rubble. Ignorant of the forest watching her, she leaped off the rocks and sat her pack down on the ground by the road. Now at sixteen years of age, she was strong enough to lift the stones and unearth the mystery that is the pile of rocks.

Standing before it, she stretched her arms out and up, warming up to lifting the boulders. She decided this will be her project that no one knew about. Every day that she comes out to feed the fawns, she shall pick up and move a couple of stones. As much as she wanted to throw all the rocks out of the hole, she couldn't. It would take more than a day and her absence would be suspicious. She had to get back before noon and had completed the known task at hand.

The rocks were heavy but Mitsuko focused her energy on each rock, somehow making it lighter by a little amount. She had moved five large rocks as big as her teen-age torso before she decided to complete her chore and head on home in time for lunch. Tomorrow, she shall come back and work on the pile again. She was determined to find the voice of the faint whisper.


	2. The Head Speaks

Each day, she would work on moving a couple of rocks before going to the nursery to feed the innocent little fawns. It seemed like the hole was fathomless and she would soon unearth the center of the world. She now had to jump in the hole to get any rocks out. Was this task really going too far? What if someone from her clan found out what she was doing? Would she get in trouble? She hoped not. Only she and the forest knew what she was doing. The wind whispered it to anyone who listened. The fawns had heard the rumors and now every time she feeds them, they give her a look with their eyes as if they were telling her to leave that accursed place alone.

She could tell she was getting closer as the faint whisper grew louder to a low voice; a moan like a ghost. She wasn't afraid. Something was still alive there. She quickly threw rocks out of the way, tossing them up over the edge of the large hole. She began to find black cloth, torn up and scattered everywhere in between the rocks.

Was there mud under the rocks? Her foot had stepped on something soft but she didn't bother to check as she examined the cloth between her fingers. Her studies were interrupted by a muffled noise.

"Hello?" she asked anxiously as she looked around and then up to the top of the hole. She then noticed the sun had moved and was no longer providing direct light into the hole. It was a little late in the afternoon, signaling for her to hurry up and get back home. Mitsuko started for the dirt wall to climb up when someone called out for her.

"Girl!" it shouted from the rocks that she had just left. It was a loud voice but it wasn't very clear. Mitsuko supposed that's what the voice meant to say but nonetheless, it called out to her.

"Who's there?" she turned and gazed over her workspace in the pit. It was hard to see anything now that it was getting darker.

"Hel... Plaz..." it seemed to be struggling to talk to her.

Mitsuko squinted as she whispered what the voice said to her. "Hel. Plaz. Helplaz. Help lass? Help please?"

"Hep! Pliz!" it shouted, frustrated.

Mitsuko rushed forward, a habit after working for one of the ladies in the village for a short while. The woman would shout for her and Mitsuko had to run to get there in time before the woman got angry, which was every time.

She fell down on her knees to stare into a set of gray eyes. She uttered a squeal but she couldn't move. She was enchanted by her discovery. The gray eyes were surrounded by dried blood and tears; she had never seen such emotion in someone's eyes before. They were so full of pain and loneliness.

"Get meh out uf here," it begged, staring back at her with its sad eyes.

Mitsuko swallowed hard and began to remove the stones surrounding the eyes. She didn't know what she was going to do when she could free this person or what her excuse would be for being late for lunch. This person needed help, surely her father would understand.

She gasped when she had removed most of the stone to find a severed head, belonging to the gray eyes. Their white hair was slicked back and stained with blood, turned to a pink tint. The face was disfigured slightly; you could tell there was something wrong with it through all of the blood.

"Thank Jashin that you found me, I thought I would be in this hell forever," the head said as it gazed at her with gratefulness.


	3. Suffer For Your Sins

Mitsuko only gazed back, mouth agape.

"Well girl! What's your name? You saved me after all, I should at least know your name," it demanded.

"Nara Mitsuko," she replied mindlessly, eyes still wide. This horror she uncovered in the pit, this was it. This head in the bottom of the pit, this was what she had always talked to and feared.

"Mitsuko huh? Nara..." she watched as the face's expression twisted from kind and pleasant into anger, "You wouldn't happen to know a heathen named Shikamaru would you?"

Her heart leaped in her throat. What did this head have against Shikamaru? The head couldn't do much as of now. It wouldn't do much harm to say yes, would it? "Shikamaru is my father," Mitsuko told it.

Suddenly, the head busted into laughter that echoed through the pit and throughout the forest. When it regained its cool, it smirked and looked at her again. "How ironic!? He buried me here and then his daughter comes and digs me up! What a gag!" It laughed again, scaring Mitsuko.

"My father buried you here?" Mitsuko asked it when it had calmed down again. "What is your name?"

"Name's Hidan. Shikamaru led me here and blew me to bits before burying me here after I killed his friend. Damn! This hurts," Hidan's face twisted with agony, "Could you help me out, Mitsuko?"

"Are you still wanting to take revenge on my father?" she asked him, concerned of her father's safety.

"Well duh! That son of a bitch blew me up and left me here for who knows how long. Who wouldn't want to kill somebody after doing that?"

"You got your just desserts for killing Asuma-sensei," a voice said and both Mitsuko and Hidan stared up in horror at the figure up above.

The shadow's short hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail in the back of his head and looked down upon the two as he flicked his cigarette, the ashes fluttering towards the ground.

"Papa," Mitsuko said under her breath.

Hidan recognized the man and shouted at him, "You!"

"Mitsuko, get up here," Shikamaru ordered, blowing smoke into the sun light and tossing his head to motion for her.

She lowered her head in shame and climbed up the dirt wall. Her father looked cool as he took a drag from his cigarette, waiting for her. The whole clan admired him. Now she disappointed him. When she arrived by his side, neither of them made eye contact. She faced him with her head bowed as he stared down at the helpless head in the pit.

"It's funny. I was your god when I judged you and punished you for your sin. Then my daughter becomes your savior and uncovers you, exposing your stupid mug to the world that had forgotten you for so long; you're absolutely unrecognizable."

"Thanks to you!" Hidan shouted up to him angrily.

"I won't cover you with rocks this time. I'll allow you to see the light of day and suffer the darkest of nights. Birds shall poop on you and maybe some brave animal will come down and feast off of your helpless limbs," Shikamaru tossed his cigarette into the pit and turned to his shameful daughter, "Mitsuko, you should have asked about the rocks before you went and removed them. I would have told you willingly."

"I am sorry, Papa. I was curious and I felt like I had to do it," she stared down at the ground and looked in the corner of her eye at Hidan. She was so embarrassed in front of him. Then again, he was the one whose body parts were scattered everywhere. She couldn't imagine everything he was feeling now.

"I won't punish you. I can understand where you are coming from. You can keep your duty as Northern nursery caretaker but you cannot come to this hole anymore, okay?"

Mitsuko took one last glance at Hidan as he stared up at her, waiting for something. "Yes, sir," she replied, taking her eyes off of the head.

"Now go finish your chores, I will meet you back at the house," Shikamaru smiled and patted his daughter's head. She finally made eye contact with him and smiled back. He wasn't mad with her at all. With that in mind, she ran off to the nursery, obeying her father's orders.

Shikamaru turned to the pit and lit another cigarette. "My wife named her Mitsuko because she gave us a light in dark times. Even when my wife died shortly after giving birth, Mitsuko still supplied that light we needed to get through my wife's death. She'll help anyone in need without thinking twice. Any clan, any organization, she doesn't see the harm in it. I won't let you use her and harm her like you did Asuma-sensei. Mitsuko is too precious to me," he took a drag and waited for his words to soak into Hidan.

Hidan's eyes were full of anger towards his jailer as he clenched his teeth in spite.

"I suppose you want to hear about what has happened while you were gone," Shikamaru blew a long puff of smoke into the air and stared back down at Hidan, "We destroyed the Akatsuki. What was left of them disbanded and became loyal citizens to some lucky countries. Mitsuko will never have to live in fear again."

Hidan looked away from Shikamaru, disappointed that his organization was no more. When he looked back, Shikamaru was gone. He was left alone in the pit of the Underworld, yet again; forever. There was no god. No Jashin. It was all a lie. All the people he had killed, the reason why he was in the pit, all for nothing. He was nothing.


	4. I Want To Die

Mitsuko didn't feel as afraid as she walked through her family's forest for the umpteenth time. She knew what was there now and it didn't bother her anymore. The forest had never been so bright before. As she passed the pit on the way back from the nursery, she heard Hidan desperately calling out for her from the bottom of the chasm. She immediately felt very sorry for him but then she remembered what her father had told her the night before about why Hidan was in the pit.

Hidan had killed her father's sensei, Asuma. That was a good reason to put him in this hole. Shikamaru explained to her that Hidan was immortal. His body could be taken apart and he'd still be alive. Hidan didn't need help out of the hole. After hearing what her father had to say, she decided Hidan needed help out of his old habits, not out the pit. But she didn't know how to do it without her father finding out.

"Mitsuko, is that you?" he called to her as she stood on the path away from the hole.

"Yes, Hidan. I am not allowed to be here right now so make it quick," she said quickly.

"I have no purpose anymore. Akatsuki is done for and I'm stuck in this hole. I want to die," Mitsuko's heart dropped when Hidan told her this. "Please Mitsuko, I need to talk to your father."

"I'll see what I can do," Mitsuko gazed down at her feet. She had never heard anyone say that they wanted to die before, it scared her. "But Hidan, there has to be a purpose. No matter how long you live, a new opportunity comes your way. Surely there is something you would like to accomplish?"

"No, there is nothing left for me in this world."

Mitsuko couldn't stand it. Was he crazy? She had to knock some sense into him. She stood on the edge of the pit, her toes hanging over the edge. She stared down at him, her eyes full of tears as Hidan stared up at her, confused and surprised.

"I uncovered you so that you could have a chance in this world! You could at least show some appreciation! There is a big world out there while you sit in this hole, wishing you were dead! There's more to it than this forest, Hidan," she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and bit her quivering bottom lip, "Then again, I'm one to talk," she chuckled. She had never been outside of Konoha before. The village and this forest was all she knew.

Hidan was hurt. Mitsuko had made a point. There was still the whole world he had yet to travel and there could be something he could do. Plus, he wasn't being very appreciative towards this girl. He valued her for feeling his pains and helping him, yet he laid there, wishing he was dead.

"Just go get your father, please," he said, lowering his gaze from her.

Shikamaru arrived without Mitsuko, as Hidan expected. The man squatted on the edge of the pit and stared down at the head in the depths of the earth.

"Mitsuko begged me to come here and talk to you, so what did you want?" he asked gruffly.

Hidan was surprised that the girl begged her father for him. "At first, I wanted to die. That's when your daughter convinced me that there was more to this life inside this hole. To make it short, I want to get out of here and start a new life."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "How should I know that you won't kill again?"

"My power is eternal but, I promise that I won't use my power to kill again. I have no reason to anymore."

"I want you to apologize for killing Asuma-sensei and beg for my forgiveness in front of the whole village. If you can do that, I will allow Mitsuko to help you get back on your feet. She seems to have taken a liking to you," Shikamaru smirked.

Hidan was speechless. He thought that Shikamaru would turn him down and leave but he was allowing him a second chance. "I'll do it," he replied, glad that he was given this opportunity. Mitsuko was so right.

"I'll get things set up and I'll send Mitsuko to get you," with that, Shikarmaru leaped up into the trees and disappeared.

"What is there left to like about me?" Hidan asked himself out loud with a calm face.


	5. When Love Runs Cold

Mitsuko approached the crowded plaza, carrying Hidan's head in her arms. He did not like it one bit and had grumbled to himself during the whole trip from the forest to the village. Having to be carried by a girl, pressed against her chest; it was humiliating for Hidan.

He stared out at the crowd and could feel the grudges against him. A lot of people wore angry faces while some cried and others showed no emotion at all. It made Hidan irritated. If only he had his body and his scythe.

Shikamaru stepped forward from his place by the Hokage. Surprisingly, he wasn't smoking a cigarette at the time. Probably out of respect in the presence of the Hokage. He didn't make eye contact with Hidan, instead, he was gazing at his daughter, as if asking her if she was making the right decision. He came up beside her and turned to meet the crowd. "This is Hidan, the man who killed my sensei, Asuma Sarutobi. My daughter found him where I buried him and she wished to help him. All he asks for is your forgiveness and my forgiveness," her father announced to the crowd.

"I am sorry for killing Asuma Sarutobi," Hidan followed Shikamaru in the speech. He did not feel the least bit sincere about it but tried to make it sound convincing. He wanted out of that hell hole.

The crowd was silent for the longest time until the Hokage nodded and raised his hand, signaling for everyone to depart. As the crowd dispersed and the Hokage left, Shikamaru lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He seemed distressed and it made Mitsuko worry.

"Well, dad?" she chimed as she held on to the severed head in her hands.

"Hidan will have to earn my forgiveness. There will still be hatred towards him with some of the villagers. He can stay with us, if he likes, and you can fix him up. He's not my problem," he told her before he began to walk away.

Mitsuko looked down at Hidan's silver, slicked back hair with a sad look in her face. "Well, Hidan? How about you?" she asked him.

He gazed out at the village landscape, wondering what he was going to do. The wind blew past them, juggling leaves about. One could feel it in the air that autumn was coming. It would get cold soon in that pit. "I guess I will lean on you for awhile, if you allow me to. At least until I can get sewn back together and on my way," he replied, staring blankly.

"Alright," she said complaisantly before carrying him home. Deep inside, she was excited about taking care of Hidan. It was like bringing home an injured pet. A bodiless, foul-mouthed head for a pet.


	6. Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Over the next few days, Mitsuko would bring home bags of Hidan's body parts that she had found in the hole and sew them back onto him. It was a painful ordeal for everyone as Hidan screamed profanities when Mitsuko would poke him with the needle.

He was slowly becoming whole again as he laid on the futon with an arm and a torso. Mitusko sat beside him, feeding him warm rice like a baby. At least no one was watching, he decided.

"Your eyes seem to be coming to life," Mitsuko commented when she caught a glimpse of his eyes. Over the past couple days; they had slowly changed from gray to a pale violet.

Hidan munched on some rice but didn't reply. Instead, he looked out of the corner of his eye at the shadow at the door. Shikamaru was spying on them.

Mitsuko frowned and placed the bowl aside and reached for the bag of body parts. She pulled out a case from the pouch on her leg and began to thread the needle. Hidan watched blankly as she pulled an arm out of the bag and began to sew it onto his shoulder. He kept his mouth shut this time even though the pain was nearly like that of a papercut. He had been sewn up so much in the past few days, he was numb of pain and began to look like Kakuzu.

"Is this a finger?" Mitsuko asked as she held up a large digit, bigger than a giant's thumb. Hidan stared in horror while the shadow at the door bursted out laughing and had to run off.

"No... uh... I'll sew it back on myself later," Hidan took it out of her hand and threw it back into the back. She looked at him, clueless.

"That was a large finger, are you sure?" she asked him knowing the struggle she had to go through to sew a finger of his back on.

"Yeah," Hidan blushed with a smile.

Mitsuko continued working on Hidan's arm. In and out, under and over. A repitative motion like a sewing machine.

"Mitsuko, I really want to thank you for going through all this trouble."

"Oh? Sure thing," she turned away to hide her face.

"No, really. I really appreciate it. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be down in that hole."

Mitsuko smiled but didn't look into his violet eyes, as much as she wanted too.

"You were like my light at the end of the tunnel, you know?" he chuckled and laid his head back on the pillow. "Instead of Jashin, I saw you."

Mitsuko saw him close his eyes and place his hand on his chest. He had passed out. She finished up and quickly left with the bowl of rice in her hand.

As Mitsuko washed the dishes at the sink, her father sat with her old brother at the table playing a game of cards. He ocassionally took a drag of his cigarette and tapped it against the ash tray while folding out his cards.

"Papa, who is Jashin?" Mitsuko asked loudly over the rush of water in the sink.

"Hidan's stupid god that he worships," her father replied as he casually laid a bill out on the table. His bet. His son eyed it with amazement and then smirked.

"Oh," Mitsuko felt relieved and turned off the water. She gazed out the window as she leaned on the counter.

"Don't believe anything he says, Mitsuko. He'll do anything to get a willing sacrifice for his cult deity," her father said to her, placing another bill on the table.

"I'll watch myself, father," she turned around and saw the two of them gambling. "Watch yourself, nii-chan. Papa has a notorious game face," she warned her brother before heading back to Hidan's room.


	7. Prayer

Mitsuko stopped at the door and listened to the voice inside the room. Hidan was talking to himself, supposedly. She pressed her ear to the paper screen door and listened.

"Jashin, I give my immortal soul to you so that you can act through me and preach your teachings. I thank you for giving me this immortal life so that I can worship your greatness. I thank you for sending Mitsuko to save me from spending eternity in that hole. I ask that you bless her as you have me. Please Jashin, keep me within your grace. You send beautiful Mitsuko to save me, did you also mean to tempt me with her? Allow me to make the right decisions while I am in her care and help me do your bidding. Praise Jashin!" Hidan opened his eyes and saw Mitsuko standing in the doorway with a warm smile.

"I heard you praying," Mitsuko said meekly before sitting at his side.

"Don't tell me that you're an atheist," Hidan sneered and looked away.

"No, I believe in a higher power. There are just so many religions in this world, none of them fit what I've been raised with. I believe there is a deity of somekind that rules this world beyond our sight," she confessed her religious beliefs.

"Ah, that's good. I hate atheists," Hidan looked at her and frowned.

"I get the feeling that you hate a lot of things," Mitsuko smiled.

"Yeah like money. Killing for money is against my religion."

"Money is the root of all evil after all," Mitsuko said before she started to sew more limbs back onto his torso.

He watched her piece random parts together before sewing them on. He felt like a puzzle. She found his hips and sewed them on. She had placed his legs on the futon where she would sew them on when she got to that section.

"Tell me about your religion, Hadin," Mitsuko tried to break the silence.

Hidan look up at her in surprise. No one had ever asked him to explain his religion of Jashin to them. Usually people would tell him to shut up when he would start his preaching. He licked his lips and began to tell her about Jashin, how causing death and destruction pleases Jashin and sacrifices in his name increases Hidan's immortality. She stared at him, finding his religion odd.

"Interesting," she lied. Under the smile she was scared for her life.

"You know, there has never been anyone that I've met so far except you that has actually been nice to me and wanted to get to know me," Hidan's mouth curled into a grin.

"Really?" Mitsuko asked, surprised.

"Yeah, everyone else just thinks I'm crazy. Only Kakuzu has ever showed an ounce of kindness towards me but only because he had to as my partner," Hidan shrugged and watched Mitsuko at his side.

"Well, you can consider me your first true friend, I guess," Mitsuko gave him a childish smile and he returned it with a satisfied grin.

Days passed as Mitsuko sewed Hidan back together. He healed quickly and she had to take the stitches out of some of his body parts. Hidan was getting to the point that he could sit up in bed and feed himself but he started to enjoy Mitsuko's company. His new friend, Mitsuko was so kind and caring. He wondered how she would feel if he suddenly went back on his promise and killed someone. She wouldn't find out. As soon as he got pieced back together, he would sneak out at night and kill some people to increase his immortality. He would have to be cautious and make it look like someone else's murder, try a different style in killing rather than his maniacal style. That way, Mitsuko would not have to worry.

"Hidan, did you get to sew that large finger back on?" Mitsuko asked when she came through the door with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

Hidan had the blanket pulled up to his waist and had his arms crossed behind his head on the pillow, relaxing. He nodded in reply and hoped she hadn't figured out what it was yet.

"I found some clothes that you could wear," Mitsuko placed the pile of folded clothes at his side. "Dinner is almost ready if you're hungry."

Her warm smile made him feel warm inside and as she left, he wanted her stay just a tag longer. Hidan sighed and started to get dressed. He would see her at dinner then.


	8. The Last Supper

Mitsuko prepared supper in the kitchen, occassionally looking up from her work to watch her father and brother wait at the table. Her brother was a reflection of their father. Keen eyes, black hair and solves things a million times faster than any normal person. Mitsuko took after her mother whom she had never known. She had long black hair, green eyes and was slower than a turtle. She was a medical ninja and the caretaker of the Northen Deer Nursery, nothing more. Her brother was a chunin now while she kept failing the exams. She had no talent unlike her brother or father who could manipulate shadows.

"Mitsuko, when is dinner going to be finished?" her father called out impatiently as he took his legs out from under him, stretching out on the floor like a child.

"Soon, papa," she huffed, pouring a pot of steaming noodles into four bowls.

"Something smells good, Mitsuko! What are you cooking?" Hidan asked when he came into the small dining and kitchen area, rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone turned to look at him, including Shikamaru. Hidan was dressed in a white haori and blue hakama. He did not wear a shirt under the white jacket although Mitsuko provided a shirt in the pile of clothes. Hidan flashed her a grin when he saw her stare at him.

"Buckwheat noodles and pork," Mitsuko muttered, regaining her sense of reality.

"I can't wait!" he exclaimed as he joined Shikamaru and Haru at the table.

A smile spread across Mitsuko's face as she finished preparing dinner. She was happy that someone actually appreciated her cooking. When she served dinner, only Hidan thanked her and watched her as she served Haru and her father. She felt bubbly inside and sat down at her bowl to eat.

But Hidan couldn't take her eyes off of her. He ate and smiled at her, watching her. She began to feel uneasy and her stomach felt light despite the food that she was putting in it. She then noticed that her father saw Hidan watching her and was gritting his teeth as he ate.

"What are you looking at?" Shikarmaru finally asked Hidan who sat across from him.

Hidan looked from Mitsuko to Shikamaru and smirked. "Mitsuko."

Shikamaru slammed his fists on the table and pointed his chopsticks at Hidan. "If you even touch my daughter, I will kill you,"

"I would be thankful if you kill me but, then again, you can't kill me," he grinned almost maniacally and stifled a laugh.

Shikamaru growled and started to make hand signs to perform a jutsu.

"Please, papa! Calm down. Can we just have a peaceful dinner?" Mitsuko pleaded at her father's side.

"Yeah dad," Haru finally butted in, "It's not like Mitsuko likes him back. After all, she's still going out with that Inuzuka boy, Ken."

Mitsuko lowered her head, embarrassed in front of Hidan. He looked to her for an answer but could tell right away that Haru was telling the truth as she avoided his gaze.

"Good point, Haru," Shikarmaru said, getting back to eating his dinner.

After dinner, Shikamaru and Haru went for a stroll around the village while Mitsuko was left to clean up.

"Mind if I help?" Hidan asked when he came up to her side at the sink.

"Sure," she mumbled, not looking at him.

He laid his jacket on the counter and helped her wash the dishes while looking in the corner of his eye at her. She seemed upset about what Haru had said.

"So who's this Ken guy?" he asked her.

"He's my boyfriend by force," Mitsuko confessed after a moment of silence, "I don't like him but he won't let me go. I used to like him but not anymore." She turned her back to him and raised the back of her shirt to reveal deep scratches in her skin.

"What the hell?" Hidan muttered.

"I don't want to tell papa or he will start something that will involve the whole village," Mitsuko stared down at the water in the sink.

"Then I'll do something about it," Hidan said defiantly.

"What will you do?" Mitsuko looked over at him and saw his flexing muscles as he rinsed off the bowls and pushed them to the side. Like Ken's before they were used to abuse her.

"I don't know. Tomorrow, I'll go talk to him."

Mitsuko wiped her hands with a towel and wondered what "I'll go talk to him," meant in Hidan's language.


	9. Casting The First Stone

The next day over breakfast, Hidan politely asked Mitsuko to take him around town today. She knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to talk to Ken.

Everyone looked and stared at the Nara girl walking alongside the handsome man with silver hair. Some girls were jealous that the Nara girl was hanging out with the guy with no shirt on. Some people knew who this man was while others ignored them as they passed by.

Mitsuko led Hidan to the outskirts of the village where all of the teenagers liked to hang out. Over a hill sat a broken down wall and a group of laughing teens. Mitsuko pointed at a boy with a large black dog at his side.

"That's Ken," she said, staring down at the grass as she pointed. She looked up to see Hidan already at the wall, taking Ken by the back of the head and thrusting him into the ground, face first.

"That's for hurting Mitsuko!" Hidan shouted as he ground Ken's face into the dirt. The dog tried leaping on him but Hidan threw his arm back, throwing the dog and another boy off of him.

He stood up as Mitsuko ran up to the scene, scared and surprised.

"Hidan! What... really... you..." she stuttered as she watched Ken's friends help him back up and stare angrily at Hidan.

"You ******** b***h, hiring a hit man to wack me!" Ken exclaimed as his friends dragged him away.

"A hitman?!" Hidan muttered under his breath when Mitsuko came up to his side to see if he was hurt. He held her back, bent down and picked up a rock before chucking it at Ken and hitting him in the back.

"That's for calling Mitsuko a b***h!" Hidan shouted after him as the teens marched away, their leader defeated.

"We're going to get in trouble," Mitsuko mumbled on the way home.

"Don't worry about it, I'll smooth things out," Hidan smiled confidently. Mitsuko was filled with more grief.

"Ken's father is going to come and start it with my father... Oh! It will be horrible, Hidan!" Mitsuko covered her face with her hands.

"I'll talk to your good old dad. Just don't worry about a thing, Mitsuko. You have enough to worry about with the deer nursery and piecing me back together," Hidan grinned, "The last thing you need is to fret about that good for nothing Ken."

Mitsuko flashed him a quick smile. "Thank you, Hidan," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. He smirked with satisfaction.

That night, Mitsuko had went to bed early under Hidan's sweet talk while he spent the evening in the livingroom, waiting for Shikamaru. His hatred towards him had subsided since he was taken in by Mitsuko but he still remembered what Shikamaru did to him.

Shikamaru came through the door and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch, exhausted.

"How ya doin', pops?" Hidan asked, turning off the television by remote.

Shikamaru looked at him through one eye. "Tired."

Hidan laughed. "Hard day?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Why the friendliness?"

"Well, to be honest, I wanted to talk to you about Mitsuko."

Shikamaru looked at him patiently but his eyes told Hidan that he was on the verge of killing him.

"Mitsuko told me about Ken and how he abused her. I asked her to take me to him today and I beat him up," Hidan explained.

"He abused my daughter?!" Shikamaru stood up from the couch. Then the thought creeped into his mind, "You didn't kill him, did you?"

"No, I just made him eat dirt and threw a rock at him," Hidan smiled.

Shikarmaru stood at ease. Why was Hidan being so kind to Mitsuko, standing up for her? At least no one was killed.


	10. Condemned

Suddenly someone was banging at the door and Shikamaru rushed to answer it.

"Wait, pops," Hidan couldn't help but giggle calling Shikamaru "pops."

Shikamaru stepped back and let Hidan answer it. All of a sudden, someone landed a puch across Hidan's face.

"That's him dad!" Ken shouted from outside.

"What did you do to my son?" a man grabbed Hidan by the arm and pulled him up to his face.

Hidan was still trying to catch up with what was going on after the punch. Shikamaru stepped in, putting hands on both of the men's shoulders.

"We can do this peacefully, my children are sleeping," he said.

Ken's father nodded and motioned his son in. "Explain to Mr. Nara what happened to you earlier," he told his son.

Ken looked up at Shikamaru with a sad, hurt face. His brown hair was tossled on his head and his cheeks were marked with red face paint in the shape of triangles. You could tell he was an Inuzuka as his large black dog came in and sat at his feet obediantly.

"I was hanging out with my friends when that silver haired man came up to me and threw me to the ground, calling me names!" He pointed at Hidan, accusingly. "Mitsuko was with him, watching him beat me up! Then when my friends tried to help me away, he threw a rock at my head!"

"Not true you lying brat!" Hidan objected but Ken's dog turned and growled at him.

"Hidan, we don't need that right now," Shikamaru exhaled as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I demand an apology from your whore daughter and her pimp," Ken's father snarled.

Shikamaru dashed forward so quick, father nor son was able to see through his attack. Hidan looked up at the wall to see Shikamaru holding Ken's father up at the chest with a kunai at his neck.

"Take that back," Shikamaru said through clenched teeth.

"No. You have no idea what your daughter does. Ken told me."

"You both have no idea who my daughter is!" Shikamaru made a motion to stab the kunai into Ken's father but Hidan caught his arm.

"Let me take care of it, pops. You're tired and need some rest," he said with a sincere face.

"No, I know what you'll do," Shikarmau stared into his opponents eyes. "You promised the village."

"I know but... They didn't keep their bargain. They still haven't forgiven me," Hidan tried to persuade him.

Shikarmaru suddenly dropped Ken's father to the floor and stepped back, handing Hidan the kunai.

"Be as quiet as possible. I do not want Mitsuko to wake up and see what you can do."

Hidan watched as Shikarmaru disappeared into the hall and heard the sliding of the paper screen door. "Pop's getting old," he said with a sneer. Quickly, he turned and jabbed the kunai into his opponent's shoulder and withdrew it, jumping back.

Ken dashed to his father's side as the door opened and a large dog jumped in and nuzzled his master's face. Hidan grinned almost maniacally, licking the blood off the kunai. He couldn't believe Shikamaru would just let him perform the ritual. Maybe it was because Inuzuka had called Mitsuko names. Shikamaru must be really mad.

"The ritual has begun!" Hidan exclaimed as he thrusted the kunai into his belly, withdrawing a splatter of blood. The Inuzukas watched as his skin changed from skin color peach to black with white stripes where his bones would be. He smeared the blood across the floor forming a circle with a triangle inside it. The symbol of Jashin.


	11. Living In A Nightmare

Mitsuko woke up after a horrible dream. She couldn't remember all the details but she was afraid. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and pulled her robe on before heading out into the hall.

"Hidan?" she whispered, peaking into his room. He wasn't in bed. She continued into her father's room and found both Shikamaru and Haru sleeping in their beds. Where was Hidan? She began to get worried and came into the livingroom.

"What happened!?" she suddenly screamed as she saw all the blood and several lifeless bodies on the floor, Hidan among them. Mitsuko rushed to his side and checked his vital signs.

"Mitsuko, what are you doing up?" he asked, sitting up from the symbol on the floor.

"I had a nightmare but this seems much worse. Are you okay?" she frantically touched her robe to his wounds, stopping the blood flow.

Hidan took her hands into his and looked into her terrified eyes. He knew Shikamaru didn't want Mitsuko to see this. He didn't want her too either.

"I'm alright, Mitsuko. Get washed up and go back to bed. Forget what happened here," he whispered softly, trying to calm her down.

"But Hidan..." she started to struggle in his grip but he held her tighter.

"You have enough to worry about, don't worry about this or me," he said breathing heavily in her face. The pain was so good but he was healing and he was trying to enjoy every minute of it.

Evil flashed in his violet eyes and struck fear in Mitsuko. He let go of her hands and she walked away, staring down at her feet.

Hidan fell back down on the floor and took a deep breath. She saw what he had done. How could they live on knowing this? He glanced over at the dead bodies. There will be suspicions. He had to frame someone. He had to do something to the bodies.

It was a few days later when they discovered the bodies in Mr. Itsuki's backyard, half buried in the garden. He was tried in the Hokage's presence and banished even though he pleaded innocent, that he didn't know anything about the murders of Masaru and Ken Inuzuka along with the killing of their dogs. All of his belongings and property would be sold to the state since he had no will and no family.

In the days that followed, Shikamaru and Mitsuko were very depressed. Hidan had moved on. Killing didn't bother him a bit. He had to kill. It was his religion. But the fact that Mitsuko saw what he had done bothered him. He wanted to make it up to her in some way.

"Mitsuko," he said from behind her to get her attention. She stopped washing the dishes and turned to him with a gloomy expression. "I was wondering if you'd," he ran his hand down the back of his head nervously, "like to spend the day with me," Hidan muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I do need to take a break and Haru can pick up where I left off. Are you asking me on a date?" Mitsuko forced a smile, as fearful as she was of this man.

"What!? No way! I mean..." Hidan stepped back.

"I'm just fooling with you, of course I'll spend the day with you, Hidan. You're cool!" Mitsuko exclaimed, putting her arm in his and walking towards the door.


	12. His Purpose

The handsome boy with silver hair and violet eyes walked through the marketplace with Mitsuko Nara, the quiet shadow of her father, clinging lovingly to his arm. She really didn't want to but she felt that the more that she kissed up to him, the less likely he would be to kill her.

He didn't like the fact that she was clinging to his arm and giggling occassionally. He didn't like how everyone was watching them. He only wanted to get Mitsuko out of the house, to forget about the other night and embrace a life without Ken. She changed his life, he could return the favor.

Mitsuko stopped at a stand where a middle aged man sold clothes of various styles. She smiled and browsed through the fabric and the hand-sewn clothes while the man watched her happily.

"Haven't seen you in awhile, Mitsuko-chan," he said. Hidan watched him suspiciously.

The man was not very pleasing to look at. He was obese and he wore clothes that could not contain him. Hidan was glad the man stood behind the stand so he wouldn't be gagged by the rest of the man's body. Double chin, greasy short hair and a pocked face. Was Mitsuko actually wasted her time talking to this guy? Hidan began to wonder if she was wasting her time with him.

"Yeah, I have been really busy with my chores," Mitsuko replied holding a dress up to herself.

"Your dad keeps you busy, eh?" the man laughed. "That sure does look good on you, Mitsuko-chan."

"Really?" Mitsuko put it up to herself again and looked at it. "What do you think, Hidan?"

"I don't have taste in clothes, sorry," Hidan apologized sincerely. He really didn't want to say anything to make her buy the dress and make the man happy.

"I can't afford it right now, I'll have to ask papa to buy it for me. Thanks, Taro-san!" Mitsuko smiled and waved as she trotted off with Hidan.

As they walked through the shops and stalls, Hidan remembered the look in the man, Taro's eyes when he looked at Mitsuko. He had seen the look in eyes before. Greed. Lust. Hidan watched Taro when Mitsuko held the dress up to her, his body reacted. If this man would go so far as to follow Mitsuko home... Hidan smirked when he thought of killing again.

"Hidan, hold this for me, please?" Mitusko asked as she handed him a basket of bread. He accepted it obediantly and shook his self from his scheming.

That night as they walked home together, Mitsuko happily skipping along the wall above Hidan, he decided he would protect Mitsuko from the sins of the world. That was his purpose.


	13. Angel Of Death

The silver full moon hung high over Konoha, casting a blue light against everything. A shadow leaped from building to building, as people slept inside their houses. It stopped on a windowsill, opening the shutters and entering, uninvited.

Shadows formed along the walls of the room and became creatures of the night, like the silver haired intruder. On the floor under a pile of blankets lay a snoring man, the target.

The silver haired shadow withdrew a vial from his sleeve and curled back its lips, revealing pearly white teeth. It twisted off the cork and squatted down next to the sleeping man.

"This is for Mitsuko, you fatso. Drink up," the shadow said as he opened the man's mouth and poured in the silver liquid. Mercury.

The man opened his eyes wide as the liquid fizzed down his throat. "Who are you?" he croaked, realizing what was happening.

"I am Mitsuko's angel, the Angel of Death," the shadow smiled before leaping out the window.

The sun drizzled its light through the windows of the Shikamaru Nara's household, giving everyone a sense of new energy for the day. Shikamaru and Haru were on the back porch, doing their morning tai-chi, leaving Hidan and Mitsuko alone in the livingroom.

Mitsuko sat next to Hidan on the couch, folding clothes on the coffee table and laying them in the basket. Hidan had his bare feet up on the coffee table as he watched the news on the television.

"Someone died again? Jeez," Hidan sighed and gazed out the window.

"Oh my," Mitsuko dropped the shirt in her hand and Hidan turned to see what she was gazing at.

"Was that the guy we met yesterday?" Hidan asked her. She nodded and listened to the news report.

"It appears that Taro-san had been poisoned last night. The Black Ops suspect his wife to be the culprit-"

"Hidan..." Mitsuko started, avoiding his gaze.

"Dude, it wasn't me. I don't kill with poison," Hidan made a point. He used sorcery to kill.

"Okay, I believe you," Mitsuko smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. He grinned, happy she fell for it. He didn't want her to hate him, after all, he was doing this for her.

"Good," Hidan got up and leaned over, pecking her on the forehead before heading to the back door. Mitsuko stared up at him, surprised and afraid. She looked away when he turned his head slightly and smirked at her as he slid the back door open. She was blushing.


	14. Family

"Hey pops! What's up?" Hidan waved, interrupting father and son's meditation.

"We were just meditating," Shikamaru grumbled, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, sorry about that," Hidan rubbed the back of his head shyly. "I was wondering, what happened with Kakuzu?"

"He's dead," Shikamaru replied coldly.

This was shocking news to Hidan as he stood and stared. How could Kakuzu die? Wasn't he immortal like him? "How?" Hidan asked.

"The Hokage performed Rasengan on him shortly after I was through with you, the attack killed him," Shikamaru stood up and stretched his legs out.

Hidan was dumbstruck, "Where is his body?"

"That's classified information, I cannot tell you that," Shikamaru went for the door, Haru following him.

"Thanks, pops." Hidan muttered, following them back in.

Mitsuko was still sitting on the couch where Hidan left her. When the three men walked in, she looked around nervously and continued folding clothes.

"I'm going to the headquarters, I'll be back tonight," Shikamaru lit a quick cigarette and took a puff. "You guys know the drill. Haru is in charge. Mitsuko, if you go anywhere, tell your brother first. Today, Hidan stays here."

"What? That's no fair!" Hidan objected like a rebellious teen.

Shikamaru flashed him a look that told Hidan that he knew what had happened with Taro. "As long as you live in my house, you follow my rules. That's what I've always told Haru and Mitsuko, now I'm telling you, son."

Hidan went red with anger as Shikamaru left, laughing.

"Calm down, Hidan," Haru told him, "Dad always jokes around with us."

"I've just had a really bad day so far, I guess," he replied, clenching his fists. He saw that Mitsuko was hurt that he said he hadn't enjoyed his day at all and he remembered kissing her forehead. "But Mitsuko always brightens my day. What do you plan to do today, Mitsuko?"

"Well, I was thinking about just staying home with you until papa comes back," Mitsuko looked up at him. Haru disappeared into his room. He hated babysitting.

"Okay, sounds good," Hidan lied. He wanted to get out of the house and find out where Kakuzu was. He had the urge to find his old teammate today.

Mitsuko watched out of the corner of her eye as Hidan fell back into the couch beside her and flipped through the few channels on the television. She had overheard the conversation outback.

"Papa told me about Kakuzu," Mitsuko started as she stared down at her hands. Hidan looked over at her, waiting for her to continue. "His cells had all been broken and beyond medical repair."

"Is there new techniques now that would bring him back after all this time?" Hidan whispered.

"I believe so although it hasn't been tested. I bet if you put a bunch of new cells into a body, they will help rebuild the broken cells and eventually rebuild the whole body."

"Do you think you could do that if you had Kakuzu's body?" Hidan turned to her, his arms stretched out across the back of the couch, one arm almost behind her.

Mitsuko nodded as she leaned over the basket. "If his cell structure is truely damaged, then that is all I might need to do to bring him back unless..." she held her tongue. Maybe Hidan was the wrong person to mention it to.

"Unless what?" he looked at her with a persuasive gaze, trying to pry the information from her.

"I heard that there is a jutsu to revive the dead but I doubt your friend will be the same after that jutsu is performed. Even with my cell theory, he may end up being a vessel or a soulless puppet," she explained as she glanced over at him.

"He'd probably get pissed at me if I tried to revive him," Hidan stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Would you seriously do that for me though?"

Mitsuko nodded. "If it makes you happy," she looked away from him, "Is Kakuzu your boyfriend?" she blushed, hoping he wasn't.

"What!? No way! Ew!" Hidan shouted, taken aback by Mitsuko's absurd question. "That dude was like a hundred years old!"

"Then why do you want to see him alive again?" Mitsuko smiled sweetly.

"Well," he breathed, gazing at the wooden floor, "I guess I miss having him around."

"Haru misses having mother around. I cannot understand that feeling but I have sympathies for those who do. I'll try what I can to help you, Hidan," Mitsuko gleamed and turned her head quickly, covering her face with her hair. "If I was gone, would you miss having me around?" she managed to ask him nervously.

Hidan stared at her, trying to find an answer that told the truth and wouldn't upset her too much. "I don't know."

Mitsuko shivered and stood up. "Boys are stupid," she said coldly before disappearing in the hall, leaving her unfinished chore of folding the laundry on the coffee table.

Hidan made a smug look and turned to the television. "She'll get over it," he sighed thinking about his plan of using her to revive Kakuzu and then leaving Konoha with his old partner. He was such a single-minded fool as he did not wonder if Kakuzu would be willing to come with him or even if he would be revived as a whole.


	15. A Walk In The Garden

Mitsuko sat in the corner of her room, her legs brought up under her as she wrapped her arms around them. She was weeping by the window and thought hard about Hidan.

He was different from all the other boys she had met. He talked to her and spent time with her. Hidan even kissed her! Her heart fell as the thoughts creeped into her mind that he was just toying with her as Ken did. The kiss was probably full of nothingness, just a fake to please her. But if what her father had said about Hidan was true, then why hadn't he killed her and her family yet? Maybe he wasn't as heartless as papa had said? Who was she kidding, he said he didn't know if he would miss not having her around. If he did care for her, he would have said he would indeed miss her.

Mitsuko struggled to stand up and lean against the wall, wiping her eyes. She had to go talk to someone.

"Nii-chan, I'm going to see Ino-san or Hinata-san. I'll be back soon," Mitsuko said loudly as she banged on his door.

"Alright!" Haru shouted.

Mitsuko avoided Hidan's gaze as she walked in front of his view of the television and stood at the door, waiting for him to comment on her leaving.

"I'm sorry that I'm stupid, Mitsuko," Hidan apologized, his arms behind his head on the back of the couch. "But you stupify me," he smirked, hoping he had flattered her enough to forgive him for whatever reason.

She sighed and slid the door back, "I'll comment on that when I get back," she said before heading out into the busy streets of Konoha.

It wasn't a long walk to the Yamanaka Flower Shop where Ino-san worked. The small bell rang as Mitsuko walked in and she got blown away by the variety of smells from the flowers.

"Welcome!" Ino's voice came from the back. She always tried to greet her customers.

Suddenly, a woman with long blonde hair in a ponytail and bright blue sapphires for eyes rushed out and stopped behind the counter. She leaned excitedly over it and smiled. "Ah, Mitsuko! What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you, mama," Mitsuko said, coming up to the counter.

Ino had always played the role of a motherly figure towards Mitsuko. Mitsuko had always called her "mama" even when Shikamaru told her not too. But Ino told him it was okay, although she understood his situation. Mitsuko needed a woman in her life to set that motherly example. Ino smiled sweetly and invited Mitsuko behind the counter, taking her under her wing.


	16. Psalms 23:4

"I've fallen in love with him! But he acts like such a boy! I don't think he is interested in me, he's just using me," Mitsuko dabbed at her eyes with a napkin and took a sip of chamomile tea that was intended to calm her down.

"Well, have you talked to him?" Ino asked her as she sat across from her at the small metal table behind the shop. It was the first thing you came too as you gazed at the garden. Ino's garden was ten times better than Itsuki-san's.

"No, but I doubt it would make a difference. He'd probably reply with 'I don't know' or lie about it to make me feel better," Mitsuko crossed her arms angrily and sniffed.

"Then he is probably not worth the time," Ino huffed, "But, I advise you tell him how you feel before you do anything drastic like kick him out or something. You need to stop feeling bad for him now that you've sewn him back together. Now he is just a moocher."

Mitsuko bowed her head, her eyes watching the pavement below her. "He's so good looking though..."

Mitsuko walked through the door and saw that Hidan had fallen asleep on the couch. She smiled sweetly and pulled a blanket over him. She pondered whether to kiss him or not. She was quickly interrupted by Haru as he came into the room.

"Ah, you're home. So how was your visit?" Haru asked her as he leaned against the wall.

"I went to Ino-san's and talked to her about Hidan," Mitsuko came up to her brother. He had the aura of their father and it struck a respect towards authority in her. "I'm gonna tell Hidan how I feel and if he does not feel the same about me, I'll tell dad to kick him out."

"It's about time you tell him. But didn't dad say he wasn't his problem?"

"Yeah, but... I'm afraid to do it myself," Mitsuko confessed.

Haru laid a comforting, firm hand on her shoulder. "You won't be doing it yourself, you'll be doing it with your family."

Mitsuko gazed up at her brother, lovingly. "Thank you, nii-chan."

Hidan snuggled the blanket up closer to his chin in an attempt to forget the awkwardness of being there while they talked about him, but it didn't work. He did care for Mitsuko, that why he was killing people who looked at her the wrong way. He was doing it for her but because she didn't know about it, she couldn't appreciate it.


	17. False Love

Haru disappeared back into his room and Mitsuko nestled down on the edge of the couch by Hidan. He was so cute, sleeping there like a baby. She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear and laid her hand on his shoulder, barely stirring him.

"Hidan, wake up."

His eyes fluttered slowly, trying to act like he had been asleep the whole time. "What is it? Oh, Mitsuko," he smiled at her, "You're back."

"We need to talk," Mitsuko started, swallowing hard. Her fingers were dripping sweat from her palms. "I'll go first," she took a deep breath and prepared to let it all out, "I have a big crush on you!" she exclaimed.

Hidan was surprised she had confessed having a crush on him and saying it so loudly but he frowned. "I like you too, Mitsuko but only as a friend. Don't get me wrong, you're really cute but you deserve better than me. You've seen what I do, it's not fitting for such an innocent girl. I'm sorry Mitsuko, but I'd just prefer to be friends."

She glared at him, angrily. "You were toying with my feelings!" she yelled, "You kissed me and flirted with me! It was all fake!" She stood up from the couch and started for the door.

"Now, Mitsuko... Where are you running off to now?" Hidan asked her, sitting up on the couch.

"I'm going to find your friend and revive him so you can be on your way!" Mitsuko shouted before dashing out into the streets. Hidan leaped up and followed after her.

"Mitsuko! Why can't we just be friends?" Hidan asked from behind her as he followed her through the village.

She didn't answer. The wind was licking at her tears as she stomped down the road. Her hair matted to her face as she cried and bit her lip. She wanted to turn around and punch him in the gut. He never listens. He had no clue. If she couldn't have him, she didn't want him around.

"Mitsuko, answer me," he commanded her like she was a slave.

She clenched her fists and ground her teeth harder.

"Can we just act like none of that happened? I liked being just friends with you," Hidan caught up beside her but she leaped into a sprint.

Now the two of them were running side by side. Mitsuko grinned through her tears and took a quick left turn into the scrollery. Hidan kept running and saw that Mitsuko was gone. He looked around anxiously but he couldn't find her.

"Shit..." he muttered. He was utterly lost.

Mitsuko entered the scrollery and began searching for scrolls on necromancy. She was glad that she was able to ditch Hidan before he saw her crying. All she wanted to do was get this over with and get him on his way out of her life.

There weren't many scrolls on necromancy as it was forbidden to practice but stupidly, you could study it freely. Mitsuko smirked and thanked whoever made that law as she unrolled the scroll in a private corner and studied it carefully and thoroughly. She would use this jutsu in case her cell theory didn't work. But suddenly she thought about the cells. How would she do the transfer?


	18. Searching For Salvation

"Hey, have you seen a cute little girl about this high and she wears a green vest?" Hidan asked random people as they passed by but they all shook their head. He was beginning to get worried because she seemed upset at the time and anything can happen when you're angry. He had to find her. "Mitsuko!" he called for her.

She heard her name being called but didn't respond. She was busy helping him. This would be the last time she would help him. Mitsuko rolled the scroll up and returned it to its original spot before going to track the idiot down.

Hidan stopped at a large building that posed significance. Maybe Mitsuko ran here? He opened the large wooden doors and began his search.

"That idiot..." Mitsuko muttered as she blinked, trying to stop the tears. Hidan was gone where she had heard him stop. He was probably out looking for her, his friend.

"Your silver-haired friend is looking for you," a woman stopped her on the street.

"Oh, thank you!" Mitsuko replied, her eyes watering. He was asking people if they had seen her! She was thankful for that, at least.

Hidan found himself in an empty room, the walls lined with beds. He saw body-like lumps under the sheets. These were dead people! He had an idea what this meant and he started at the first bed, pulling back the cover so he could see the faces.

As Mitsuko was looking for Hidan, she was wondering how she was going to find Kakuzu's body. If Tsunade-sama had performed an autopsy on him when her father was young, and Kakuzu was as fascinating as her father described him, then surely they would have kept his body for future research. But would they keep him in the main building where Tsunade-sama had performed the autopsy? Or did they take him to an exchange point? She couldn't think of any other places this Kakuzu could be so she headed in the direction of the main building.


	19. He Is In The Tomb

Hidan approached the last bed. He felt that Kakuzu wasn't here and that he was lost to him forever. Every cover he had pulled back, he felt closer to finding his old partner but this, the last one, he felt that it wasn't him. He stopped at the side of the bed and stared down at it, praying to Jashin that it was Kakuzu. With a deep breath he moved to pull back the covers. He thought about how he would piss himself if Kakuzu reached up and grabbed him as he pulled the covers back. Slowly, he peeled them back to reveal raggedy brown hair laying against the pillow. He had never seen Kakuzu's hair before so he couldn't say right away that it was him. He swallowed hard as the covers came off the forehead and then revealed bright green eyes staring back at him.

"Kakuzu!" Hidan screamed, jumping back and wetting himself.

Mitsuko heard the sudden scream and followed some of the servants to a morgue like room. As the servants swung the metal doors open, they found no one there. Nothing had been disturbed in the room either.

She shrugged and started to head out with the rest when suddenly, she heard someone whisper her name. She looked up at the ceiling to stare into the handsome face of Hidan as he smiled and waved at her, laying on the back of a flourescent light.

"Hidan... You idiot," Mitsuko wiped a tear from her eye as the door slammed shut and he jumped from the ceiling and landed behind her.

"I found him!" he said excitedly as he took her hand and led her to the last bed. He pulled back the covers and had to hold Mitsuko's mouth so she wouldn't scream.

The first thing she noticed was the neon green eyes that hadn't been closed. Around the eyes was greasy brown hair like animal's hair. Hidan had pulled the covers down to the collarbone but that was enough to see the freak that Kakuzu was. Stitches across his throat, around his shoulders and at the corners of his mouth. He had no lips, he was like a sock puppet. Those eyes... Mitsuko looked away as they struck fear in the very pit of her soul and caused her to shiver throughout her body.

"Hey, it's okay. Just Kakuzu's body. Not like he's alive or anything. That would be a different story. He's much scarier when he's alive," Hidan turned her back around so she could stare into his partner's face more.

"Then I don't want to revive him," Mitsuko muttered, scared to open her eyes.

"But don't you want to get rid of me?" Hidan asked her, staring down at her with sadness. He still couldn't believe she wanted him gone. He thought she was his friend.

"Yeah but... Kakuzu is so scary," Mitsuko opened her eyes and looked up at Hidan, "Will he kill me?"

"I won't let him," Hidan laid his hand on her shoulder. She felt like breaking down and crying.

"Really?" she mumbled, trembling at his touch. Hidan nodded with a small smile.

Mitsuko turned to face Kakuzu's body. She would start from the basics, doing various techniques to heal and revive someone. She carefully pulled back the covers and closed her eyes as she put her hands on the stitched up chest. It felt like leather and her skin crawled. She formed a mental picture of her energy flowing through her into Kakuzu's heart. After a minute, it failed. She began to search for impurities in his body but it was so dead and so old. But she had to do this so Hidan could leave her alone.

She thought really hard, picturing the microscopic cells in her body flowing through her little hands into Kakuzu's body. After a long flow, she felt a spark of life but only for a second. She became really excited and tried again for a longer session.

"He reeks of old people," Hidan said as he held his nose.

Mitsuko sighed and concentrated harder. Her head began to hurt for thinking so small. She got to the point that she was dizzy and had to stop. It was time to perform the necromancy jutsu.

"Do you need help?" Hidan asked her when she noticed her supporting herself on the bedside. She shook her head. She didn't want his help.

Mitsuko went through the signs in her head and quickly went through them with her hands before reciting the spell. Hidan stepped back, it didn't sound at all good.

At the end of the spell, Mitsuko placed her two hands on Kakuzu's chest and pressed down, as if performing CPR. A dark energy rose in the room and the lights flickered above them. They heard the machinery in other rooms buzz off for a second and come back to life with a hum. Mitsuko fell to the cold, aquamarine tiled floor on her rear and buried her head in her hands.

It didn't work. Noting had happened. Hidan sensed her disappointment and knelt down beside her.

"It's okay, I can leave without him. He probably wouldn't want to come with me anyways," Hidan tried to cheer her up. "I just wish we could have been friends."

Mitsuko didn't reply. She had tried to help him but didn't succeed. Now she had no reason to have any kind of contact with him. She wanted him to leave her alone with the dead bodies until she felt like leaving herself. The more he was around, the more she liked him. But he didn't like her, that was the problem.


	20. Ressurection

Suddenly, Kakuzu bolted upright in his bed and saw Hidan standing before him. "What the hell have you done!?" he demanded, making a clawed fist.

"Easy, dude," Hidan tried to calm him down but it wouldn't work. This was Kakuzu he was talking to.

"Who is she?!" Kakuzu caught sight of Mitsuko who had tried to scuttle under a hospital bed.

"She's the one who revived you," Hidan told him.

'Stupid Hidan,' Mitsuko thought.

"Then why is she cowering under a bed? Where the hell am I?" Kakuzu stood up and realized he was naked. "Shitt," he said, wrapping the sheet around him. "Sorry, girl."

Mitsuko had been closing her eyes the whole time, afraid to look into the neon green eyes.

"You've been dead for awhile, Kakuzu. You remember Shikarmaru? The little p***k that attacked us in the forest?" Kakuzu nodded, "This is his daughter. But before you attack her, hear me out. She saved me. Shikamaru had buried me in a ditch in her family's forest and she found me. She helped me get here to revive you."

"Okay, thank you little girl but we must be getting on our way. Come on, Hidan. We have to report this to the leader. They're probably wondering where we've been," Kakuzu began to walk towards the door.

"Kakuzu," Hidan called, turning towards him, "It's been almost thirty years, Akatsuki is gone."

No affect crossed the man's face. "Well, then I guess I have no reason to be around you then." With that, he continued towards the door.

Mitsuko watched Hidan's face as Kakuzu said this. Hidan was hurt. But not as hurt as she was when he only wanted to be friends. She would never forgive him for that. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door broke down and five ninjas jumped into the doorway, chakras flowing.

"Mitsuko, come here!" Hidan shouted, holding out his hand. She didn't know what to do and she was scared so she took it.

Kakuzu's arm turned black and he thrusted it into one of the ninja's chests. Mitsuko watched in horror as Kakuzu extracted the ninja's heart and put it into a hole that opened in his chest. He quickly did the same with three other ninjas and then on the last one, he strangled with his bare hands.

"Gruesome, huh?" Hidan asked, smirking at Mitsuko. She trembled at his side as she held his hand. She felt so small and useless.

"Let's go!" Kakuzu yelled at them as he ran out into the hall with the white sheet tied around his waist. Hidan pulled Mitsuko along and caught a kunai that Kakuzu chucked over his shoulder.

"Aw, thanks man!" Hidan shouted at him gratefully after he took a quick glance at the weapon.

More ninjas came and went as Kakuzu and Hidan fought them off so they could escape. Mitsuko soon realized she was caught up in something bad as her father stepped out in front of Kakuzu and took a drag of his cigarette.

"Kakuzu! Stop man!" Hidan told his former partner. Kakuzu stopped and looked at Hidan over his shoulder.

"Come on, this way you guys," Shikamaru cocked his head and darted towards a hidden passageway.

The three of them followed Shikamaru through a small tunnel and emerged behind the building. But they didn't stop. Shikamaru led them all the back to his house and when they came in, he slammed the door shut, locked it and pulled the blinds down in the window. Mitsuko hid behind Hidan, her father was angry. And this time, he was angry with her!


	21. Criminal

Shikamaru stood in front of the three criminals, his legs spread apart and his arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes showed deep thinking, as if he was looking for the words to say to them. Mitsuko trembled and almost collapsed at Hidan's feet as he nudged her in front of him to face her father.

Her father sighed and lit a cigarette to relieve his stress. Mitsuko now wondered for the first time in her life how many cigarettes he had smoked.

"Do you know what you just did, Mitsuko?" Shikamaru started, a hint of anger and disappointment in his voice. Mitsuko flinched, he had never talked to her that way before. "Do you know the amount of trouble you are in?"

"No, papa," Mitsuko replied, letting go of Hidan's clothes. There was no need to lean on him.

"First off, you have proven the Black Ops suspicions that you were somehow behind the last two murders. Secondly, you performed the forbidden jutsu of necromancy! Mitsuko, what have I told you over and over again about forbidden jutsus?! Third, you revived a criminal and aided two of them in crime. Do you see now, the amount of trouble you are in?" Shikamaru stood in front of her now within arm's reach.

She nodded, not wanting to say a word or else, she thought she would cry.

"Maybe I was not hard enough on you," Shikamaru sat down on the coffee table. "Maybe because your mother died, I felt that sometimes, I had to play that role of security and comfort instead of strict rules all of the time. Maybe that's why you aren't as disciplined as your brother?" He seemed to be talking out loud but Mitsuko held it all back by biting her tongue.

"Now that you guys are wanted criminals, you need to flee from here. Hidan, I want you to take care of Mitsuko. I'll pack some supplies but you have to go quickly."

"Well, it'll be slower traveling with these two kids so I'm heading out now," Kakuzu said, heading for the back door, still in a white bed sheet.

"Kakuzu, wait!" Hidan shouted after him, "You have to come with us, you can make the money."

"I thought you hated money," Kakuzu sneered.

"Yeah but, it's inevitable. You need money to get by anymore. I just hate having to kill for that reason," Hidan explained.

Mitsuko fell face first in the couch, wishing she was somewhere else at the moment as someone else and not a criminal. It had all happened so fast, she didn't think once about what she was doing.


	22. Exodus

"Please, Kakuzu," Hidan begged.

Shikamaru came back with a pack and shoved it towards Hidan.

"Come on, Mitsuko. You guys are leaving out the back," Shikamaru said almost emotionless. Her brother stood beside him.

"I don't want to leave," Mitsuko whimpered as she followed the group out the door. She wanted to stay home with her family and forget about everything.

Shikamaru handed something to Kakuzu. "Some clothes," he grunted and Kakuzu snatched them from him. While Hidan and Mitsuko were facing Shikamaru and Haru, Kakuzu quickly put the clothes on.

"I'll try to convince the Hokage that you aren't a criminal, Mitsuko, and that you were kidnapped but you have to flee from the Fire Country. There will be wanted signs and bounties on your heads. It's best if you go to another country. I'll try to keep in contact with you," When Kakuzu stood up and faced him, totally clothed and not nude, Shikamaru smirked, "And if you return my daughter to me when it's safe, I'll give you some money."

Kakuzu grinned. He'd be willing to do almost anything for money.

"What's in it for me?" Hidan asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Nothing 'cause you were the cause of my daughter's troubles!" Shikamaru pointed in his face.

"Damn it," Hidan sighed and adjusted the pack on his shoulder.

"Okay, enough said. You all better get going," Shikamaru said when he heard running and shouting.

"Papa..." Mitsuko cried and hugged him.

"Don't worry, Mitsuko. We'll be right there with you the whole time," Shikamaru whispered as he brushed her long black hair with his hand. She pulled away and hugged Haru.

"Make dad proud," he whispered to her, patting her back.

Mitsuko sniffed and walked back beside Hidan.

"Can you run fast?" Kakuzu asked her. She shook her head. She was the slowest in her class. Kakuzu sighed and squatted down, putting his hands at his sides. "Get on," he mumbled.

Mitsuko reluctantly crawled onto his back and held on to his shoulders. He held her up by her legs and stood straight. He was so creepy and Mitsuko could feel large bumps coming out of his back.

"Ready?" Kakuzu asked Hidan.

"I've been ready," Hidan smirked. Really, he had, he had just been waiting for the perfect time to ditch this place.

Mitsuko glanced back at her father and brother. Haru waved with a supporting smile as her father stood there, smug. She knew he wanted to smoke a cigarette so bad, but this wasn't a good time. He probably didn't want her to remember her last moments of him smoking a cigarette but she did. That's how she'll always remember him.


	23. Reunited

Suddenly, Kakuzu and Hidan leaped into the trees and she couldn't see her family anymore. Jumping from tree branch to tree branch, Mitsuko had to wrap her arms around Kakuzu's chest so she wouldn't fall off. She could smell the embalming fluid they had put in him to preserve his body. It made her sick, combined with the random leaping and landing heavily on branches that vibrated when you stood on them.

Shikamaru picked up the sheet Kakuzu had been wearing and ripped it in several pieces with his kunai. He handed a couple pieces to his son. "Spread these around, it'll confuse the dogs," Shikamaru explained before they both disappeared in thin air.

Haru hopped over the buildings dropping a cloth here and there. He wondered what his mother was thinking right now about Mitsuko. Surely everything will turn out alright, after all, Mitsuko was the light to their family. He couldn't believe his little sister would have committed crimes knowingly. That's not like Mitsuko. It was all Hidan's fault. She was in love with him and tended to his every whim. Haru gazed out over the forest that surrounded Konoha. One day, he would kill Hidan as his father had done and this time, no unlucky, innocent girl will dig him up.

"Doing alright back there?" Hidan asked Mitsuko as he leaped near Kakuzu. She looked at him, her face pale, and nodded. Lie.

He grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth as he jumped. "Hey, Kakuzu. How long will it take until we enter another country?"

Kakuzu gazed at him out of the corner of his eye. "A couple hours," he replied.

"Aw, man!" Hidan whined, "I'm going to be hurting when we finally reach another country."

"Stop complaining or we can trade cargo," Kakuzu growled. Hidan frowned.

"It's good to have you back though," he told his former partner.

"You too," Kakuzu grimaced as he said it.

"You guys are so gay," Mitsuko said to try to distance herself from Hidan.

Hidan looked at her crossly but saw that she had quickly passed out. He smirked and gazed forward. It would be hard to prevent Kakuzu from killing her when he gets angry.


	24. Kakuzu Leaves

Kakuzu dropped Mitsuko into a U-shaped booth seat and sat down. Hidan followed and looked around. They would attract attention.

"I say we leave her," Kakuzu whispered staring at Hidan, "I don't know what you're going to do from here on out but I'm not going to babysit."

"We can't just leave her!" Hidan whispered harshly, "If you want, I can take on the job taking care of her."

"What if something happens? What if you taste her blood? What then?" Kakuzu asked him.

"I'll just have to restrain myself, and you will too," Hidan crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Me!? Whoever said I was going to be involved in this!?" Kakuzu pointed at himself, "No, it's your problem."

"What about the money?" Hidan asked, knowing Kakuzu's obsession.

"Hidan, did you see that guy's house? Even if he had any money, it wouldn't be worth babysitting this brat for who knows how long," he leaned over the table and gazed at Hidan with his angry green eyes.

"But Kakuzu..." Hidan bit his lip. He needed Kakuzu's help.

"No, I'm not doing this. Now that I'm alive again and Akatsuki is gone, I'm not your partner anymore!" Kakuzu stood up from the table and started walking towards the door. By this time, everyone was staring and checking bounty posters.

Suddenly, Mitsuko pulled at Kakuzu's arm as she stood on her knees a few booths away from Hidan. Kakuzu turned and gazed angrily at her but she was not intimidated, she was gazing down at the wooden floors.

"You can't go. Can't you see that Hidan loves you? He needs you Kakuzu!" she told him.

"Mitsuko!" Hidan shouted, standing up from the booth and stepping into the aisle. If she was going to pull things like that all the time, it would be nearly impossible to stop Kakuzu from killing her.

"Get off of me you little brat," Kakuzu hissed.

Mitsuko shook her head, "You can't walk out on love."

"Oh, god," Hidan slapped his forehead and rushed forward, taking up Mitsuko in his arms to try to protect her from one of Kakuzu's outbursts.

"Hidan, maybe you should give her some medical help; she's acting a little disoriented," Kakuzu told him before turning towards the door. "See you in hell, Hidan," he waved.

"Fuck you too, Kakuzu!" Hidan shouted at him as he went through the door. After a minute when Kakuzu left, Hidan noticed all of the people watching him. It reminded him of the day he apologized to the villagers of Konoha. "What the f**k are you looking at?!" he shouted at them before carrying Mitsuko out of the restaurant.


	25. Together

He walked through the sandy streets with Mitsuko looking around lazily in his arms. She didn't seem aware of anything at all.

"You didn't have to say such things in front of so many people; it drew too much attention," Hidan told her.

"Wouldn't it be better to come out of the closet in front of a lot of people so they can witness your love for another?" Mitsuko gave a slight smile.

"But that's what you don't get, I don't love Kakuzu. I hate his guts!"

"Oh, whatever," Mitsuko grinned, "I saw your face back there, you do have feelings for him."

Mitsuko figured that the more she convinced herself that Hidan was homosexual, the less she would like him but it wasn't working. She was still in love with him. What was it that made her like him?

"What do you know? You've never been around Kakuzu and me long enough to know anything!"

"You can put me down now, I'm wide awake thanks to your mouth," Mitsuko tried to switch the conversation, she wasn't going to get anywhere on that topic.

Hidan let her down and they walked side by side through the little town.

"So, what are we going to do without Kakuzu? How are we going to survive?" Mitsuko asked Hidan.

"I don't know. I guess we'll figure out something," Hidan looked around aimlessly.

"What did my dad put in the pack?" Mitsuko stopped and pointed at the black pack that Hidan was still carrying on his shoulder.

Hidan stopped and slung it off his shoulder, putting it on the ground and digging through it.

"Uh, a first aid kit, lots of food, some money... Kakuzu was right, you guys are poor. This was probably all that your dad had." Hidan counted the money inside the pack so no one would see. "Looks like there's some spare clothes."

"Good, that should get us somewhere. We'll have to use the stuff sparingly," Mitsuko said as she bent over him, gazing into the pack.

"This means we have to gets jobs and find someplace to crash," Hidan zipped up the pack and slung it over his shoulder as he complained, "It's going to be horrible without Kakuzu."

"Just because you have to work for money? Oh, please!" Mitsuko followed him down the street, "I did chores all day as my father and brother sat around the house."

"Cause you're a woman! Women are supposed to do the work," Hidan turned into a shop.

"Oh, is that how it is!?" Mitsuko shushed when they entered the building and were confronted with people. No point in acting out in public.

Hidan walked up to the clerk and asked if they needed any help while Mitsuko stood around by the door, trying as much as she could not to stare at him. She was still trying to figure out what was so attractive about him, yet she feared him.

"He says that the bakery is looking for some extra help and it is right across the street," Hidan said pointing out the window when he came up to her.

She followed him across the street and into the bakery while watching his every move, admiring his every feature. What did she see in Hidan that wasn't in Ken?

"Hey, are you looking to hire some help?" Hidan asked the clerk at the bakery.

Hidan was handsome, Mitsuko could give him that. She had never seen someone with silver hair and violet eyes.

"When can we get started?" He asked.

His bad boy attitude was similar to Ken's.

"Here, Mitsuko," Hidan said, handing her a uniform, "You get to help work at the cash register while I'm the delivery boy," he sighed as he looked at the scarf and goggles.

Mitsuko put on the apron and took her hair up into a ponytail with the scrunchy she found in the pocket.

"Here's the keys to the moped that's around back!" their boss yelled, tossing a pair of jingly keys at Hidan.

Hidan held them up and observed the golden key with an eight ball key ring. "How kinky," he said outloud, and Mitsuko giggled, "Alright, Mitsuko, earn us some money," he smiled at her.

Mitsuko summed it all up that day as she worked at the counter. Hidan was handsome, he was bad ass and her father didn't approve of him. At any minute, Hidan could kill her yet he cared for her and had some sort of feelings for her. She liked the danger of him, Ken would never kill her but Hidan could. That's what it was.


	26. Growing Closer

Working at the bakery was almost agonizing. There were at least two deliveries to make a day and only five regular customers would come in every other day. Every day, people would come in for a small breakfast of croissant and coffee and comment on the cute Mitsuko behind the counter. Usually, if Hidan wasn't making deliveries, he would hear the comments and note on who it was. Within the next month, that person would be found dead. Mitsuko knew this when she saw Hidan's head peak out of the back and look among the customers. Sometimes, when Hidan was just heading out for a delivery and he heard a comment about Mitsuko, he would show possession by grabbing her around the waist and kissing her goodbye.

"I'll be back, babe," he'd say and the person that commented would either leave or comment on how cute they were together.

Mitsuko enjoyed those moments even though she knew they were just fakes to fool the customers. But it seemed every time he did it, the kisses became more real.

Despite the drama that Hidan created occasionally, they had accumulated enough money to start having money on hand rather than scraping and having to do without. Sometimes, when they were still really poor, the boss would give them a ration of bread each day when they would come in for work and his wife would sneak a bowl of soul for each of them during lunch.

Hidan and Mitsuko found a snug little place on the other side of town where they could spend the night. Using a flat cardboard box as a blanket, Mitsuko would nuzzle up against Hidan and he would allow it just because of the situation.

Just as the sun rises, Hidan would curse the light and shake Mitsuko awake. He'd turn around so she could get dressed in cleaner clothes and then they would set off for the bakery.

Mitsuko loved watching Hidan when he'd set off on the moped. He'd be wearing the goggles and the scarf around his neck and he'd intentionally floor the pedal so he'd show off in front of the window. It always put a smile on Mitsuko's face for the rest of the day.


	27. Plan For Second Exodus

One day, business went as usual. Hidan was due to come back from a delivery any minute and Mitsuko leaned over with her elbows on the counter, watching out the window and waiting for him. The bell of the door rang and she turned to see a tall old man with green eyes and greasy, shoulder length brown hair. Most of his body was covered with black clothes and he wore a leather, stitched mask over his mouth. He saw her and came up to the counter. All of the customers made quick glances as the old man laid a bundle of papers on the counter.

Mitsuko studied the papers and looked up at him when Hidan walked through the back door behind her and saw Kakuzu.

"Is there a problem?" Hidan asked and Mitsuko handed him the papers. After reading them he looked up at Kakuzu, "Let's talk around back,"

Mitsuko got hold of their boss' wife to run the register for her while she was gone. She quickly caught up with Kakuzu and Hidan by the back door before they walked out into the sandy back yard.

"You found our wanted posters!?" Hidan suddenly questioned him. He looked at the papers once more.

One had Kakuzu's picture on it with the bold words, "Wanted" above him and below was his bounty. Hidan's was the same but Mitsuko's however had, "Missing" across her poster. There was no money reward.

"I found them in Konoha," Kakuzu replied, "No doubt they'll be sending the posters here too."

"You went back to Konoha? What's the news?" Mitsuko asked him, anxious to hear if she could go back home.

"You're still a criminal so don't fall for the missing poster, it's just a trick to get you to come home," Kakuzu explained.

Her shoulders dropped, she had really hoped she could go back home.

"Hey, but isn't this what you've always wanted? To see the outside world?" Hidan asked with a smile, putting his hand on her shoulder to try to cheer her up.

"Not as a criminal," Mitsuko mumbled.

"Get used to it, pretty soon, you guys will have to flee to another country," Kakuzu put his hands on his hips.

"So what have you been doing?" Hidan asked Kakuzu to try to strike up a conversation with his old partner. Mitsuko disappeared back into the bakery seeing that she was not included.

Their boss' wife disappeared back into the kitchen and Mitsuko rung up a customer. Soon, they would have to leave this homely little town in the desert. Where would they go? Maybe further into the Wind Country or into Earth Country. They'll be running around the continent in disguises to try to hide themselves from authorities. Mitsuko didn't like having to run around and miss things. She wanted to travel and explore. She hadn't really had the chance to explore this town, she had been so busy working.


	28. Passover

Kakuzu came through behind her and walked around the counter towards the door like a ghost. Hidan tapped her shoulder.

"We have to talk tonight, 'kay?" he asked her with a warm smile. She nodded in reply and he disappeared into the back again.

She was anxious to know what they had to talk about. The rest of the day, she guessed what the conversation was going to be about. Was it about getting a new job? Or maybe Hidan wanted to leave her behind and go with Kakuzu? She dreaded that. She had her hopes set on talking about leaving Wind Country.

That night, Mitsuko snuggled with Hidan under the cardboard box and used the pack they had been carrying all this time as a pillow. She had her back to him and waited for him to start talking. He rolled over and placed his hand on her arm, head bent near hers.

"Kakuzu wants to make sure we're not getting into any trouble so he's going to travel with us to Earth Country. Tomorrow morning, I'll go into work and tell the boss that we'll be leaving and then we'll meet Kakuzu by the camels that he rented. We'll travel like the villagers so we don't draw attention. You'll have to get dressed heavily though, to protect yourself from the sand and sun. Kakuzu we'll give us some clothes when we meet with him. Does that sound good?" he asked her with a smile.

She nodded, happy that they would still be together. "Yes, that sounds excellent," she replied.

"Alright then, get some sleep," Hidan told her and rolled back over onto his other side. It was warmer tonight and Mitsuko slept away from him.


	29. The Devil's Disguise

The next morning, Hidan shook Mitsuko awake and quickly made way for the bakery as she got ready for the busy day. Mitsuko sat beside the trash can where they slept, with the pack in her lap as she waited for Hidan to get back. The morning sun rise was so refreshing and the sand was at rest. It cast a golden glow on the already golden town. Mitsuko wished her father could see the sunrise. He's probably watching it right now from his hangout on the rooftop, thinking of her. Mitsuko, light child. Hidan saw the light in her when she found him in the pit yet he curses the light of every sunrise. She found him very peculiar.

"Surely he'd be back by now," Mitsuko said aloud when Hidan hadn't returned for her. She estimated it took about five minutes to get to the bakery from the alley so it would take ten minutes back and forth and probably another ten minutes tops to quit their jobs. It had been almost an hour, judging by the sun's position. Mitsuko was beginning to get worried.

She stood up and gathered herself, making sure she wasn't leaving anything behind before walking down the street towards the bakery. Oddly, no one was out bustling around on such a beautiful day. The streets were deserted. Mitsuko turned a corner and found out why.

Blood stained the well trodden road towards the bakery, forming the same symbol that she had seen Hidan lay on the night he killed the Inuzukas. The symbol of Jashin. A man stood in the middle of it, clutching a bloody dagger. He had slicked back silver hair, black skin and white paint where his bones would be. He was shirtless and wore a pair of blue hakama and wooden clogs. This wasn't Hidan, was it?

She looked ahead of this man and saw her own face, her brother Haru as he spat up blood on the ground, grabbing his arm. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Mitsuko's shoulder and caught her by surprise. It was Kakuzu.

"Hidan has your brother in his sorcery jutsu," Kakuzu told her.

"That's Hidan!?" Mitsuko pointed. Kakuzu nodded.

"If you want to save your brother, you have to get Hidan out of the circle long enough for you brother to flee," Kakuzu explained.

"You couldn't even protect Mitsuko when Ken was abusing her!" Hidan yelled at Haru, oblivious to both Mitsuko and Kakuzu's presence behind him.

"I didn't know!" Haru growled in pain.

"That's why I finish it before it starts," Hidan smiled and dug the dagger into his thigh with a groan.

Mitsuko saw her brother double over and it was too much for her. She rushed forward and jumped on Hidan, hopeful that she had pushed him well enough out of the circle. The dagger had dug deeper into Hidan leg as she landed on him but Haru wasn't in anymore pain other than the wounds he already had. She had successfully taken him out of the circle!

"Mitsuko! What the hell!?" Hidan yelled as he squirmed under the little girl. She didn't let go, she clung to his waist and held him down.

"Run boy!" Kakuzu yelled at Haru, "Run if you want to live another day!"

"Not until I kill that son of a bitch who took my sister away from us!" Haru struggled in all of his agony.

"Yeah, we had something to settle!" Hidan's face was squished against the ground. "Ouch!" He shouted as the dagger poked out of the back of his thigh and Mitsuko moved out of its way but stayed on top of Hidan.

"Please nii-chan! You're aren't ready to take him on!" Mitsuko shouted at him.

Haru clenched his teeth in anger. He couldn't do it. He couldn't protect his sister or fight for her honor. He wasn't a good brother. He struggled to stand up and looked at his sister once more. She was sucessfully restraining Hidan to protect her big brother. Why could she do it? What made her different? This small ninety pound girl was able to keep an adult down on the ground. He wasn't even able to attack Hidan successfully.

"Hurry, nii-chan!" Mitsuko shouted at him as Hidan tried to get out from under her. His hideous form had disappeared and he back to being handsome.

Haru turned and dashed as best as he could back towards Konoha. When he was out of sight, Mitsuko rolled off of Hidan and allowed him to get up.

"Mitsuko! Why did you have to stop me!? It was getting good!" Hidan didn't face her.  
He had his back to her as he tried to pull the dagger out of his thigh. He let out a pleasurable groan that sent shivers up and down Mitsuko's spine as she sat up and watched the bucket of blood fall from his leg to stain the sand and form clumps.

"Done now?" Kakuzu asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest impatiently. Hidan nodded, grinding his teeth as he wiped off the dagger on his pants and stuck it in his waistband. "Good, let's go."

Mitsuko and Hidan followed Kakuzu into an alley far off from where the battle had been. There were two camels already loaded for the trip.

"You fucking idiot attracted attention. Now we'll have to hurry and get out of here," Kakuzu scolded him as he pulled some clothes out of a bag on one of the camels, "Here, put these on."

He tossed clothes at both of them and put some on. He completely wrapped himself in the white cloth, save for his face. Mitsuko and Hidan did the same and boarded a camel together.

Kakuzu hopped on his and whipped at the reins. The camels swayed back and forth as they walked, making Mitsuko sick. She laid her head on Hidan's back and watched the desert sand pass by.


	30. Confessions

Hidan thought Mitsuko was asleep as she laid on him heavily. He wanted to talk to his former partner again. "Isn't she cute, Kakuzu?" he asked him suddenly, "I can't believe she's Shikamaru's daughter."

"I can't believe you haven't killed her yet," Kakuzu retorted.

"What!? Why should I kill her? She saved me and revived you!"

"I didn't ask to be revived! But you have changed because of her, Hidan. What is it about her that enchants you so much? No girl should do that to you of all people."

"Shit, Kakuzu. I haven't changed. It's just a cover for her." Hidan ignored what Kakuzu had said but he wondered about it himself.

"You don't curse as much either. Even when she's not really present."

"Shut your hole," Hidan huffed.

"You said it yourself, "she's cute". Is there something I don't know about?"

"So what!? A lot of little girls are cute!"

"So you like little girls?" Kakuzu stifled a snicker.

"No!" Hidan shouted like a child.

"Come on, Hidan. You can tell me," Kakuzu said, being nice for once. He really wanted to know why Hidan was so defensive.

Hidan looked at his former partner crossly and turned his head back to see Mitsuko sleeping. "Well, if you really want to know... I do kind of like her," he stopped for a minute and gazed at the camel's coarse rust colored hair, "She has a huge crush on me and she told me about it but I told her I liked her as a friend, and she deserved better than me, her father's immortal enemy."

Kakuzu starting laughing maniacally and Hidan tried to calm him down.

"So what if I like her?" Hidan frowned, he couldn't believe he blurted that out to Kakuzu. "I hope it doesn't change anything between you and me."

"You fucking idiot, I was only your partner in crime because I was assigned so. There is nothing between you and me," Kakuzu gazed at his partner.

Hidan was hurt but he hid his face behind his veil. Once upon a time, he did have feelings for Kakuzu but now he had Mitsuko to love and care for, if she still accepted him.


	31. Sympathy For The Devil

Shikamaru wrapped a bandage around his son's torso by candlelight. Haru stared up, straight on into space.

"It took me awhile before I finally defeated Hidan too, Haru. I will help you train and learn. I want him to suffer too for everything, for killing Asuma-sensei and all of the other innocent people he killed, for taking Mitsuko away from us," Shikamaru bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"What would mom do if she was still alive?" Haru choked on his tears.

Shikamaru raised his head up in surprise, "Knowing your mother, she probably would have raised Mitsuko to be more..." he couldn't find the word.

"Yeah," Haru cut him off knowing his father was having trouble, "I know dad. None of this would have happened if mom was around," he began to sob.

"No, don't cry, son. Don't waste energy on bawling like a baby when you could be working towards getting your sister back," Shikamaru stood up and turned from Haru, wiping his eye.

Mitsuko rubbed the sand out of her eyes and looked around to find herself on a speeding train in a red leather seat beside Hidan. Kakuzu sat across from them with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his neon green eyes laying on her. She gazed up at Hidan and found that he was asleep with his arm tight around her. She shifted under the blanket that he probably provided her earlier and crawled out of it's twisting grasp.

"Bathroom," Mitsuko muttered as she walked off and Kakuzu nodded behind her.

Mitsuko asked a lady in uniform where the bathroom was and ended up being walked there like a child. She shut the door and sat in front of the toilet, wanting to vomit. The train's rumbling motion made her sicker than riding on a swaying camel or riding the lumpy back of a leaping old man in trees.

When the cleansing of her body wouldn't come, she did her regular business and went back to her seat without being led by a waitress.

"Did the waitress need to hold your hand while you crapped?" Kakuzu asked her jokingly.

"No! I can't believe she took me to the bathroom like that. I'm sixteen," Mitsuko pouted.

Kakuzu chuckled and leaned in closer towards Mitsuko to the point he was in her face and it scared her. "You remind me of my little sister back home. But unfortunately, I killed her,"

Mitsuko could sense the smile under the leather mask. The satisfied grin like he could taste her fear. She wanted to kick him in between the legs; the opportunity was open.

He patted her head and disappeared into the next train car.

Mitsuko frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily. She hated being treated like a child.

Hidan stirred and reached for her for warmth. He pulled her closer and Mitsuko knew he was awake. No one can unconsciously pull someone within arm's reach into their embrace. She smiled and buried her head in his bare chest. Maybe he was starting to realize it too?

"Ugh! You guys make me sick!" Kakuzu teased as he slid back into his seat.

Hidan immediately came too and stared angrily at the old man. "Oh yeah!? Well you're the disturbing one! With your green eyes and tentacles,"

Mitsuko couldn't help but giggle. She was starting to get used to their meaningless fighting.

"I hope you guys are hungry, I ordered some food," Kakuzu said, ignoring Hidan's insults.

Mitsuko smiled gratefully. She didn't have anything to eat that morning since they were leaving so quick.

"Wake me up when the food gets here," Hidan yawned and wrapped the blanket around both him and Mitsuko and wrapped his arms tighter around her, almost like he was trying to make a point to everyone on the train. "You're warm," Hidan whispered in Mitsuko's ear. She automatically covered her mouth with her sleeve in a reflex.

"Get a room," Kakuzu muttered.

"Shut it Kakuzu!" Hidan yelled and kicked his partner in the knee but it had no effect on the stone man.  
Hidan snuggled back next to Mitsuko under the fleece blanket. She felt so warm and not just because of the blanket. He was showing affection towards her and she began to wonder if he was serious this time and not just trying to mooch off of her. What did she have left to mooch? He had already taken her away from her home and family, convinced her to revive his old partner only to be just tossed like yesterday's toy by Kakuzu.

'Poor Hidan. Poor, stupid Hidan,' Mitsuko thought to herself, 'But he's so handsome,' she smiled and closed her eyes. The train's rumbling made her both sick and sleepy and she was quickly lulled to sleep.


	32. The Rough Plan

At dinnertime, a waitress rolled a cart down the aisle and passed out food. Kakuzu kicked Hidan in the shin when he received their cheap food.

"What!?" Hidan peered over the edge of the blanket.

"Food," Kakuzu replied opening the aluminum foil wrapping.

"Oh, thanks," Hidan took his plate and set it at his side, "Mitsuko, wake up," he shook her gently.

She twitched her nose and inhaled the scent of food, instantly waking up. Hidan handed her a plate of food with a smile.

"We'll be arriving there soon, within the next hour. From there, we must travel to an out of the way village to throw off any suspicions," Kakuzu told both of them as he took off his leather mask and began to eat.

"Aw, we have to travel again? God, Kakuzu!" Hidan complained.

Mitsuko watched discreetly over her plate as Kakuzu ate his food. He seemed to just swallow it, rather than chew and savor it. He was very odd; Mitsuko had never seen anyone with no lips and such a long mouth.

"But once we get there, we'll get disguises so we can stay longer than we would as we are," he lifted the spoon to his mouth and slurped the steaming hot vegetable soup, "And we'll all live together in a shabby apartment or whatever."

Hidan grinned excitedly. Mitsuko realized that Hidan enjoyed being around this creep for some reason. It wasn't love. Maybe it was like how Mitsuko enjoyed hanging out with the one village girl, Yumi? Yumi always told her jokes and took the edge off of Mitsuko's busy day. Kakuzu made Hidan feel at ease.

"And I guess I can pick up bounty hunting again," Kakuzu sighed as he finished his soup and set it to his side.

"Would I still be able to kill?" Hidan whispered, leaning in towards the middle of the two seats.

"I don't care, do as you like but if you get caught, I'm not taking care of Mitsuko for you," Kakuzu replied bluntly with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Alright," Hidan breathed, a plan already forming in his mind.

"What can I do, Kakuzu?" Mitsuko asked, trembling with fear as she made an effort of conversation with him.

His neon green eyes laid on her, uninterested in her normal human powers. "We'll find something for you to do when we get there," he told her like a patient parent.

Mitsuko sighed. She was hoping she could do something cool like bounty hunting, but then, she would probably have to work alongside Kakuzu. She quickly changed her mind; she didn't want to be around the creepy old man. She could stick with cleaning and such.

"Mitsuko can make some good food though! And she's pretty when she's fixing it too!" Hidan put an arm behind her, pulling her closer with a grin.

Kakuzu slowly shook his head; this wasn't like his partner at all. But it was nice that Hidan wasn't so cranky.

"He can't be killed. We've stabbed him over a million times, decapitated him and I blew him up. He's still alive. This has led me to believe that Hidan has encountered some kind of spell, even though he claims that it was a gift from his god," Shikamaru told Haru with one eye closed as they both sat on the brown couch.

Haru squinted his eyes, thinking hard.

"When you fought him, did you make mental note of his movements, his technique, and his weapon?" Shikamaru turned his head to face the younger version of himself; only Haru's hair was let down, wet and tangled in front of his face as he had just washed it.

"I caught him by surprise and he stabbed me in the arm with a kunai, out of reflex. After licking my blood off the kunai, he began to change," Haru turned and gazed at his dad through his wet, black locks.

"Black skin, white paint, indication of the third eye?" Haru nodded, "Then what?"

"He drew his own blood and formed a triangle within a circle with it. Is that how he can inflict pain?" Haru began to see through the veil. His father nodded.

"The jutsu he uses can only work if he is inside that shape. If you can get him out of that shape, you can do anything you want to him without inflicting pain to yourself. But we have to figure out a way to destroy him, completely," Shikamaru clenched his fists.

Haru stared at the wooden floorboards as he thought about possible ways to kill Hidan that hadn't been tried yet. He blinked and turned again to Shikamaru, "What if we burned him?" he suggested but Shikamaru didn't show any interest in the idea as he stared at his son, "Until he turned to ashes?"

With that, Shikamaru smirked. "That might be a plan," he said, patting his son on the head.

Haru smiled with pride. They were one step closer to destroying Hidan and bringing Mitsuko back home.


	33. Incognito

Mitsuko stepped off the train onto the gravel path into town. A lot of people were getting off after them, crowds were forming along the tracks and Mitsuko was starting to get pushed around.

"Here, Mitsuko," Hidan said as he held his hand out to her in the midst of the crowd. She smiled up at him, taking his hand. Hidan followed closely behind Kakuzu, pulling Mitsuko through the crowd.

"We'll go and get our disguises and supplies, then we'll leave this town," Kakuzu told them over his shoulder.

Mitsuko tightened her hold on Hidan's hand as they walked into a hair stylist's boutique. They followed Kakuzu up to the desk where a lovely blonde woman was giving herself a manicure. She reminded Mitsuko of Mother Ino.

"My kids want to dye their hair wild colors," Kakuzu told the woman, "What colors are available?"

The woman grinned and caught sight of Mitsuko, "Well, little girl, we can dye your hair any color you can think of," she said as she leaned over the counter.

"You go first," Hidan whispered with a smile, letting go of her hand and nudging her forward.

She gave him a glare and turned back to face the woman, brainstorming a color she would like her hair color to be. She liked her black hair but if it would save her life, she would gladly choose another color. "I'd like red, please," she smiled, walking briskly up to the desk by Kakuzu.

"Ooh, red! What shade, nee-chan?" Hidan teased with a cocky smile.

"As red as blood, if you can," Mitsuko said, paying no attention to him.

"Alright, hon. Come over here by the sink," the lady said, heading over to a sink on the wall to the left. Mitsuko skipped away, playing along with Kakuzu's plan as she followed the woman to the sink.

Hidan and Kakuzu watched as the woman washed Mitsuko's hair and then color treated it for blood red hair dye. Hidan saw a bottle of hair dye that caught his eye.

"Can you dye my hair brown?" Hidan asked her.

"Sure, just a minute," the woman replied, helping Mitsuko out of the uncomfortable position of leaning over the sink.

"I thought you kids wanted to dye your hair all un-natural colors?" Kakuzu turned to Hidan.

"Nah, I changed my mind. If I do a wacky color, everyone will think I'm copying," Hidan shrugged. It was all a fake so the woman would believe their story. It was amazing how it kept going with both Mitsuko and Hidan having no idea what Kakuzu was up to in the first place. They just played along when he said, "my kids."

"Sit right here," the woman instructed as Mitsuko joined Kakuzu and Hidan walked up to the sink.

Mitsuko watched as the woman went all over him, washing his hair and dying it brown. Jealousy boiled in her. Hidan laid backwards, his head in the sink and the woman being all in his face. What was this other feeling all of a sudden? She felt like throwing something at the woman.

"Now, how long will the colors last in their hair?" Kakuzu asked when the woman was finishing up.

"About a week," she replied.

"Can I buy more? Because my ex-wife is supposed to be taking them to a friend's party back where they came from and they want to have the same colored hair then, you know, to impress people," everything that came out of his stitched mouth was a lie.

"Sure, a bottle is five ryou," the woman came up to the register, finished making over Hidan.

Mitsuko came up beside Hidan, who was admiring himself in a mirror.

"She was all over you," she whispered to him.

"I know, I wanted to pull out my kunai but we needed this done," Hidan told her to make her feel better. He didn't enjoy the woman either, she smelled of wet dog.

"I'll buy a case of both colors, in case the others want some," Kakuzu began to count up money.

"You look different. It's not you, you know?" Mitsuko looked up at the new Hidan.

"You do too," he smiled, "It suits you though, you're such a hot-head when you get mad,"

Mitsuko smacked him playfully and Hidan began to laugh.

"Come on, you two," Kakuzu ordered them as he headed toward the door holding two cardboard boxes.

"Thank you! Call me sometime!" the woman shouted and waved at Kakuzu as the family walked out of the boutique.


	34. Author's Apologies

**There haven't been any new chapters yet, but I am working on it. The "new chapters" are actually five missing chapters which I found out about just recently as I was re-reading through Finding Hidan. I'm surprised that no one brought this my attention in chapter 6 when things just switched and I was at a blank wall. Then it dawned on me; missing chapters! I found them and uploaded them and I'm deeply sorry for any confusion it may have caused. To cheer you all up, I'm going to try to add a fresh new chapter this weekend!**

**Anyways, enjoy the lost chapters! Again, I'm SO SORRY!!! T_T -Cokehead**


	35. Chapter 35

**As promised...**

* * *

"This should last us awhile. If you only use a handful a week..." Kakuzu's voice trailed off as he began to think of the deal he had gotten.

"I didn't like that woman at all, Kakuzu," Mitsuko said, trying to feel comfortable when talking to the old man.

"I didn't either. She flirts with her customers too much to make money," he said, ignorant of what had happened with Hidan at the sink. Maybe only Mitsuko saw it as so?

"Mitsuko, don't worry about it, okay? You're still my friend," Hidan smiled at her.

"Whatever," Mitsuko frowned and stepped ahead of him.

"From now on, Mitsuko, you are Hanako. Hidan, you are now known as Ryou," Kakuzu said over his shoulder.

"What should we call you then?" Hidan asked.

"I am Katsu, and if it ever comes up, our surname is Tanaka, or if you want to roleplay as boyfriend and girlfriend, you can take on another surname yourselves," Kakuzu turned into a clothing store, "Pick what you want," he told them, sitting in a seat by the door and laying the two boxes at his feet, "This is the only time I'll spend a bunch of money on you two."

Hidan chuckled and began to look around at the clothes, aimlessly. Mitsuko scanned the store, looking for something that caught her eye. When nothing drew her attention, she took a deep breath and began to search aimlessly like Hidan.

Kakuzu watched them as he hunched over in the chair. He thought if he should look for clothes himself or even attempt at disguising himself, but he didn't want to look stupid with whatever he could find. Maybe Hidan will buy an extra outfit and he could borrow that?

"How's this?" Mitsuko asked as she stepped out of the dressing room.

Hidan and the store clerk turned to look and gasped. Kakuzu managed to lift himself off the seat to look over the clothing racks at a whole new Mitsuko, a Hanako. No more was she wearing her black ninja clothes, she was dressed like a normal teen. She was now wearing a green t-shirt with a large silver star on it and a velvet green skirt. It brought out her eyes and contrasted against her new red hair.

"Damn, Hanako," Hidan smirked.

"What? If it doesn't look good on me, say so now and I'll find something else," Mitsuko looked down at herself. She thought it was alright.

"No," Hidan said as he walked up to her, "I mean, damn, Hanako as in damn, you look good," he explained to her.

She looked down at the floor, blushing bright red.

"I'm getting this pair of jeans," Hidan said as he showed her the jeans he had slung across his shoulder.

"What about a shirt or something?" Kakuzu asked him.

"Nah, I got plenty of shirts at home. I need a new pair of jeans," Hidan told him. Mitsuko couldn't help but giggle; they were such good actors and the store clerk believed it.

"Alright then, here," Kakuzu said as he handed Hidan some bills to pay for the clothes, "Let's go!" he exclaimed, anxious to get out of this town.

When they were done shopping, Kakuzu paid for a shared ride towards a far away village in the middle of the country. They departed at noon and sat in the cart with several other people, conversing like plain old citizens, only the trio were criminals. One of the women that Mitsuko was talking to, who was also going to the same village, offered her a job at her okiya as a maiko. Mitsuko, having only known the job of cleaning and cooking, excused herself to talk to her "uncle" about it.

"No," Kakuzu said sternly when Mitsuko told him about the job offer.

"Why not?" she asked, confused.

"Ask her what kind of maiko and come back to me when you find out," he said.

Mitsuko came back to Kakuzu and told him what the woman had told her, "She says I'll be the maiko that wear their obi in the front."

"No, absolutely not. If it wasn't for Hidan, I'd let you do it," Kakuzu told her, not even making eye contact the whole time.

"Why? What is a maiko? What do you mean?" Mitsuko asked him.

"She asking you to become a prostitute and I'm sure Hidan won't let you do that. You just sit here and be quiet for the remainder of the trip," he grunted.

Mitsuko was stunned that the woman had offered her a job of prostitution. She ignored the woman for the rest of the journey until they got to the village where Mitsuko departed with Kakuzu and Hidan.


End file.
